Tag Archives: Jealousy Curve

Last night I went to Saint Rocke to see Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers on their HI-ATE-US tour. The idea being that the band is going on this indefinite hiatus, pursuing other projects, yada yada. This kind of thing always upsets me. I see bands akin to any serious relationship. You have a connection, so you start hanging out writing songs. You put out an EP and start touring, well you’re definitely dating. You get signed to a label do that big national tour, headlining venues, well my friends, you are married! All marriages have their problems and some are not as successful as others, but that doesn’t mean you give up on them! I don’t care if you’re a young marriage and your parents (ie your label) suddenly stop supporting you. I don’t care if you’ve been at it for years and are just “tired” of one another.

What hurts the most is “the other woman” syndrome. Just because something shiny and new catches your eye, doesn’t make it okay to leave your current relationship. You made a commitment and you should be faithful! I know there are many sides to these stories, but as a fan, I can only see it one way: a betrayal (I could equate the fan to God in this scenario, but that may be taking the analogy too far). I applaud SK and The Sixers for their clever title to their tour for at least they recognize what they are doing (not that any fan could ever hate a band they loved). It was an amazing show, but it still hurts.

On the other end of the spectrum, and giving me hope for all bands currently in the “indefinite hiatus” limbo, rock-outfit Silvertide (one of my favorites from back in the day when I was living in Philadlephia) have been making rumblings about something happening in that camp. On a quieter note, last night outside Harrisburg PA, members of Jealousy Curve took to the stage to deliver a few of their tunes. They only played a few songs, but it is amazing how something so seemingly insignificant can fill me with so much hope, not just for a Jealousy Curve reunion, but for life in general.

Ok, sorry for the rant. I’ll get to the point now. Here’s my music schedule for this week. As for my top picks, I’m looking forward to finally seeing Belmont Lights who play Thursday at Molly Malone’s. I’m also, of course, excited about Queen Caveat’s return to LA Saturday at the Roxy (that is, of course, if they can get their van problems worked out: http://www.facebook.com/events/481540455213679/?fref=ts).

To Keep in Mind:
November 2nd: Tonic at The Hotel Cafe
November 2nd: Matt Wertz at Largo
November 2nd: NEEDTOBREATHE at Fox Theater Pomona
November 3rd: All American Rejects at The Wiltern
November 5th: LP at The Troubadour
November 6th: Jens Lekman at Fonda Theatre
November 7th: Joe Firstman at The Hotel Cafe
November 8th: The Kin at The Roxy
November 9th: Brandi Carlile at Orpheum Theater
November 10th: Mumford & Sons at The Hollywood Bowl
November 10th: Marc Broussard at The Hotel Café
November 10th: Saint Motel at Saint Rocke
November 11th and 12th: Jack’s Mannequin at The El Rey
November 13th-15th: Gary Clark Jr. at The Troubadour
November 14th: Dan Wilson at Room 5
November 15th: Blue October at House of Blues
November 16th: Joshua Radin and A Fine Frenzy at The Wiltern
November 17th: Milo Greene at The El Rey
November 20th: The Postelles and Mayday Parade at House of Blues
November 20th: Rachel Yamagata at The El Rey
November 28th: Youngblood Hawke at The Roxy
December 6th: Imagine Dragons and Garbage at San Manuel Casino
December 8th: Boyce Avenue at Club Nokia
December 11th: Atlas Genius at The Troubadour
December 20th-22nd: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
January 23rd and 24th: Muse at The Staples Center
Feb. 9th: Ed Sheeran at Hollywood Palladium
Feb. 17th: Ed Sheeran at Nokia Theatre LA Live

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I’m still recovering from the awesomeness that was last Thursday night. Between Twin Atlantic at The Music Box and all the music, dancing, and friends at the High Voltage Magazine release party at On the Rox, I’m still beat. Could be because I’m still recovering from my bout of ill health. This cold weather isn’t helping. But I suppose I need to get used to it as I’m jetting to the east coast at the end of the week.

Friday night in Philadelphia I’ll be at The TLA with IKE, Stargazer Lily, The Shakers, Zelazowa, John & Brittany, and Placid Admiral (featuring members of one of my all-time faves, Jealousy Curve). If you’re on that side of the country, please come out and say hi!

We’ve also got some great shows in LA this week. Vanaprasta starts their Monday night November residency at The Satellite accompanied this week by Rocco DeLuca and Beatnik Jr, Kill the Alarm is in town at Room 5 on Friday, and my beloved Milk Carton Kids are back opening for Over the Rhine at The El Rey Saturday night.

Friday: Kill the Alarm at Room 5 (9pm)
ALSO: Queen Caveat and Unwritten Law at Saint Rocke (9, 11)
ALSO: Jack’s Mannequin and Guster at The El Rey (7pm)
ALSO: Liam Gerner and Jim Bianco at The Hotel Cafe (7,10)
ALSO: Brett Detar and Olin and the Moon at The Mint (9,10)
ALSO: The Sheepdogs at The Echoplex (10pm)
ALSO: Toy at The Roxy (6:30)

Saturday: Experience No Ho Arts Festival featuring Taylor Locke and The Roughs, Maxim Ludwig, The Nervous Wreckords, and many more FREE at The Federal Bar (12-8pm)…for more info about the festival http://nohoartsdistrict.com/experience-noho/
ALSO: Purple Melon at The Central (11pm)
ALSO: Feist at The Wiltern (8pm)

To Keep in Mind:
November 14th: The Silent Comedy at Bootleg
November 15th: Augustana at The Hotel Cafe
November 16th: The Stone Foxes at The Viper Room
November 17th: Marketa Irglova at The Troubadour
November 19th: Milo Greene, The Belle Brigade, and The Civil Wars at The Wiltern
November 19th: Semi Precious Weapons at The Roxy
November 29th: Rachel Yamagata at The Troubadour
December 2nd: Fair to Midland at The Troubadour
December 2nd: Allen Stone at The Echo
December 2nd: Priscilla Ahn at The El Rey
December 2nd: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
December 9th: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
December 14th: Deas Vail at The Roxy
December 16th: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
December 16th: Oh Land at The El Rey
December 23rd: Camp Freddy at The Roxy
Feb. 2nd: Mutemath at Club Nokia
March 9th: William Fitzsimmons at The Troubadour
March 13th-18th: SXSW (Austin, TX)

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Another fave band from back east, Pawnshop Roses is now the final band remaining of my original triumvirate of favorite, life-altering bands (Pepper’s Ghost, Jealousy Curve, Pawnshop Roses). Their new, highly anticipated CD, Solid Gold, was finally released at the end of the year. The whole EP is fantastic but “Fault Lines” has been one of the tracks I was most looking forward to…and here it is! *squeals of excitement*

As you all probably know, Jealousy Curve is one of my all time favorite bands. This year marked the release of their 3rd album, Marionettes!. Unfortunately, this will be the last Jealousy Curve album as May 22nd at World Cafe Live was the final Jealousy Curve show. I flew out, of course, to join my Jealousy Curve family in one last, somewhat tearful, sing-along with our favorite band. The song, “Control” is not only one of my faves from the new record, it lyrically encapsulates my feelings about the break-up of one of the most important bands in my life. “There must be some peace in letting go”

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I’m not a huge fan of this song, but it seems to be getting a lot of coverage lately….I’ve largely been ignoring the omnipresence of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, but when my roommate sent me a video of Joseph Gordon-Levitt singing the tune, I decided it was time to take notice. He does add an air of intelligence to the tune, pointing out the Hitchcock references and killing the lines sung in french…a part skipped over in many of the covers.

There are several admirable versons of “Bad Romance” done by artists I enjoy. Both Lissie and 30 Seconds to Mars choose to slow down the tempo and bring out the sexiness of the song.

I was most impressed by the cover done by Paramore’s Hayley Williams. I feel she really makes the song her own…and she uses it to actually show off her vocal skills (plus she keeps it nice and short)!

But my favorite rendition of the song has to be the one done by Jealousy Curve. The quality of the video is not the best, but they performanced “Bad Romance” along with their song “Black Widow” back in Feburary in Boston. Watching this video was probably the first time I actually listened to the song…

I’m sure that is just the tip of the iceberg as far as covers are concerned…I still can’t get over how popular the song is. Perhaps beaten out only by Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” as most covered song of the moment. For more on that, check out Stereogum’s recent posting. Seriously, it includes a Tyler Hilton version…

Enjoy!

~ Kristen

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May 22 was the CD release/final show of one of my very first favorite bands, Jealousy Curve. I flew to Philadelphia to have one last Jealousy Curve experience. I’ve spent more time than I really had to spend this past week or so writing about the show and the band and the impact they’ve had on my life over the years…I got up to 11 pages…single spaced. I was going to break it all down into a series of posts covering the many different ways this band has influenced my life, each with pictures, music, and video from over the years. Some lovely bits of writing really, but I’ve decided in writing about this band I was basically writing about myself and I just don’t think we know each other well enough quite yet for me to be spilling my entire life’s story. Although to say that my engorged eulogizing revealed so much about me pretty much sums it all up: Jealousy Curve = my life.

Their final show was celebrating the release of their new CD, Marionettes!, and the band played just about all the songs from the new disc. They also treated us with songs spanning their entire catalog, prompting the audience into massive sing-alongs to classics like “Gravity” as well as unreleased gems like “I Need to Hear I’m Right”. They did several of my favorites from their EP, This is for your own destruction, including “Nothing, Nothing at All” and “Black Widow”, but I wish they would have gotten around to more tunes from their debut album, Life as an Addict. It would have been nice to hear “Useless” or “Bruise” one last time.

But the performance itself was certainly not lacking. Face-melting rock was delivered and every ounce of emotional intensity was laid bare on the stage. By the time they got to their encore of “I’m Sorry”, “Selfish Thing”, and “Until We’re Free”, it was impossible to hold back the tears. It’s an odd combination; smiling, dancing and crying…

I am still reeling from the profound loss I feel. Jealousy Curve was such an important fixture in my life for so many years, their shows were the very milestones by which I lived my life. But it’s not just the loss of the band and of the music, but of the entire family created by the band that I felt so much a part of…and an excuse to visit the city to which so much of my heart still belongs. So even though I know this is not the end and I should be looking forward to all the new musical projects that will surface, I can’t help but feel a bit lost, as if one of the pillars of my very foundation is now gone.

And you can call me crazy if you want (and many people do)…but in my opinion everyone should have something in their lives that makes them irrationally blissful. For me, that’s my music. So this post goes out to anyone who has ever been emotionally impacted by a particular musician or band. I hope that you understand.

A toast:

For all the music played, and dear friends made
the sing-alongs, the quite songs, and all the conversations
that drifted into the wee hours of the morning

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I am! If you are too, you’d best be purchasing your tickets to the WCL tonight (Saturday). Jealousy Curve is putting on their last show. Last chance to get your faces melted right off…seriously the combination of sweat and tears will surely make it look like I’m melting. If you see a puddle on the floor, kindly step around.

Also playing: IKE, The Shakers, and Camille Beruto. Starts at 7pm. World Cafe Live. Philadelphia. The place to be tonight! Hope you can join me…